Many hair shampoo compositions provide acceptable cleaning but provide little or no styling benefits, e.g. body, hold, stiffness. To realize such benefits, separate cleaning and styling products are often used.
Recently, hair shampoo compositions have been developed which can provide cleaning and styling performance from a single product. Many of these products contain styling polymers in a compatible shampoo base. Three different types of styling polymers are used to deliver styling performance: dispersible polymers, latex polymers, and hydrophobic styling polymers dispersed in a hydrophobic volatile carrier.
The first type of styling polymer is a polymer which can be dispersed in the aqueous shampoo matrix. This dispersible styling polymer may form a complex, or coacervate phase, with the detersive surfactant component in the shampoo or form a coacervate phase upon dilution. Upon dilution, the coacervate phase deposits on the hair. As the hair dries, the dispersible styling polymer entrapped in the coacervate delivers style achievement and style retention performance to the hair. Unfortunately, these dispersible styling polymers are very similar, if not identical, to the conditioning polymers used in 2-in-1 shampoo applications. As a result, when sufficient quantities are used to deliver styling performance, the resulting hair feel profile is unacceptable. The dispersible styling polymers have no inherent adhesive properties, consequently so much coacervate phase needs to be deposited on the hair to give styling performance that, after repeated usage, the hair is left overconditioned, coated, and dirty feeling.
The second type of styling polymer is a latex polymer. The latex polymer is in the form of a colloidal suspension of polymer particles in the aqueous shampoo matrix. In order to achieve adhesion between hair fibers, the glass transition temperature, or Tg, of the latex styling polymer must be significantly below room temperature. As a result, the latex styling polymers that give good styling performance have unacceptable hair feel which can be characterized as sticky and coated.
The third type of styling polymer is an adhesive, hydrophobic styling polymer. To prepare a styling shampoo with a hydrophobic styling polymer, the styling polymer is first dissolved in a volatile, water-insoluble carrier and then incorporated into the shampoo base. The water insoluble carrier thereafter helps disperse the hydrophobic styling polymer in the shampoo composition, and also helps enhance spreading of the hydrophobic styling polymer onto hair such that the polymer sets and forms welds between hair fibers. The enhanced spreading of the styling polymer onto the hair results in improved styling performance from the shampoo composition.
One method for further improving styling polymer deposition from a shampoo, utilizing either type of styling polymer, involves the use of cationic deposition polymers. These cationic deposition polymers improve the deposition efficiency of the styling polymers, which in turn also improves styling performance. The improved deposition from the cationic polymer can also allow for reduction of the amount of styling polymer formulated into the shampoo composition, thus reducing raw material costs. The problem has been that excessive amounts of such deposition polymers can result in undesirably coated or oily wet hair feel, and can cause the hair when dry to feel dirty and have less body, less fullness.
Therefore, a need exists for styling shampoo compositions which provide good style achievement and style retention without the disadvantages of overconditioning, coated, or dirty feeling compositions. Surprisingly, the present invention provides hair styling shampoo compositions having good styling performance without being overconditioning, coated, or dirty feeling. The resulting hair styles obtained from using these compositions hold up well under the common stress conditions. Importantly, such compositions provide the benefit of allowing the user to achieve the desired style without separate style achievement products, such as mousses or gels, or to supplement their current style achievement products to more easily achieve the desired style. The styling compositions of the present invention leave the hair both feeling and looking natural. Also, these products do not have the disadvantage of causing the hair to quickly resoil.
It has been found in the present invention that compositions having certain properties, as defined by a Hair Feel Index (HFI) and a Curl Retention Value (CRV), are particularly useful for providing strong styling performance in combination with good hair feel. The hair styling compositions, when evaluated while the hair is still wet, exhibit a Hair Feel Index (HFI) of at least 0.65 and a Curl Retention Value (CRV) of at least 70. The compositions of the present invention provide the recited benefits by utilizing a hair styling polymer.
In view of the foregoing, it is therefore an object of this invention to provide styling shampoo compositions that provide good styling performance without unacceptable hair feel. It is a further object of this invention is to provide styling shampoo compositions containing a detersive surfactant component in combination with a styling polymer. It is another object of this invention to provide methods for evaluating styling performance and hair feel.